Singaporebrides | Real Weddings

April 2023

Jayne and Glen’s Magnificent Pre-Wedding Shoot in Switzerland and Christmas Themed Wedding at Capella Singapore

By Audrie Soh

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After a surprise proposal atop the National Gallery Singapore last year, Jayne and Glen embarked on a pre-wedding shoot in Switzerland before celebrating their union at Capella Singapore.

Early last year, Glen, 33, Consultant, proposed to the love of his life, Jayne, 27, Designer, in a surprise proposal at Art. To celebrate, they embarked on a dream pre-wedding shoot to Switzerland where they captured their love for each other against its captivating scenery and architecture, before tying the knot in a Christmas themed wedding at Capella Singapore with their family and friends present.

Tell us about your pre-wedding shoot in Switzerland.

It has always been our dream to have a wedding shoot in Europe, and Switzerland is known to have the best natural sights. We didn’t think it would be possible given all the costs and logistics, but it became a dream come true when our friends from Muse were already heading to Geneva for the Watches and Wonders Fair, and asked us to tag along.

The experience of having a professional magazine team as your wedding photographer was truly one of the most memorable moments of our pre-wedding shoot. We can’t express how thankful we are to have had this experience. From searching for sponsors for outfits (10 dresses and seven suits) to spending time on their free day to reduce the shoot locations, I cannot even begin to describe how professional and selfless this team was.

On the second day, we had a little hiccup. We crashed the car and ended up with a flat tire, and the team had to carry the gowns and hike uphill to the old towns for a good thirty minutes. It was so much fun working with such a kind and resilient crew, and that pushed us to go beyond our physical limits too. We were also very impressed with the incredible video and photo production quality in editorial style when we received the finished products.

What were some of the challenges/obstacles you faced while planning your pre-wedding shoot and/or on the day of the shoot?

The greatest challenge for us was having to plan the logistics within a very short time. This included planning the flights, accommodations, transport, outfits, car rentals for our 10-people crew. We only had less than a month to confirm and make all these arrangements, and at the same time, manage the budget and schedule.

Another challenge was fatigue during the photo/video shoot. We had two full days of shooting. On the first day, we started at 7:00 a.m. and ended at 9:00 p.m.. Everyone only had a chocolate waffle for lunch as we did not have any time to sit down and eat. By the time we finished and drove back to the hotel, it was almost 11:00 p.m., and we were all having a migraine from shooting in cold weather. Although we started later at noon on our second day, we also ended at 10:00 p.m.. It was amazing how everyone held out but you could see the exhaustion on everyone’s faces.

What was your wedding day like? Was there a wedding theme?

Glen: It was surreal and magical with a rollercoaster-like of mixed feelings and euphoria all packed together in one go. There was this constant heightened sense of excitement, anticipation, and emotion that made the day feel like a dream. One of the most intense feelings was the sense that everything was happening in slow motion, as if time had slowed down. At the same time, there was a sense of nervousness and anticipation that made the day like a rollercoaster of emotions. Despite all the above feelings, there was also this deep sense of joy and contentment that truly made the day feel like the happiest day of one’s life. I unexpectedly cried and was especially emotional during my groom’s speech.

At the end of the day, we both felt a sense of big relief. All the months of planning and putting it together finally paid off in such a magical and perfect wedding for us.

Since the wedding was in December, we wanted it to be Christmas related since it was near the festive season. Eventually, we decided on a natural Christmas forest theme as we wanted the fresh pine smell from the trees and to re-create the feeling that we had when we were in Switzerland. We also did not want to spend excessively on flowers as those would be thrown away after the event, so we settled on the pine trees where they could be given away and re-used for our guests’ Christmas celebrations! To add to the Christmas sparkle, we custom made glass showcases for our jewellery. We made five jewellery sets, revolving around each of the proposal rings.

Jayne: During the wedding, I wore a red peacock cheongsam handmade by a very talented designer known as Gabriella Vania from Indonesia. It was painstakingly hand embroidered with gold thread and 3D patterns to make the peacock stand out. Also, instead of directly embroidering into the fabric, she spray painted french lace with a darker shade of red to cover the satin, giving the cheongsam so much more texture and dimension. As the designer also said, it was one of her best creations. She reached out to me to ask if I could kindly lend it back to her for her exhibition. The dress is now in Jakarta.

Share the story behind the gowns that were part of your reception decor.

Jayne: I wanted to display my mother’s wedding gown during my wedding since my older sister was unable to when she had her wedding. I had thought of wearing it but unfortunately, I could not fit into her gown as it was a different dress size than my usual. Since the foyer of Capella was a huge open space and I had many other gowns that I worn during my pre-wedding shoot, I thought that displaying all of them with the pictures taken would make our reception area more meaningful, interactive and of course, fill up the empty space.

I did, however, end up wearing my mother’s wedding gown from 30 years ago, which was the puff sleeve dress. Three months before the wedding, I was unable to fit into the smaller dress but after a few months of personal training sessions, I felt skinnier as my other gowns were slightly looser. So, after my second march-in, I decided to try my luck and I managed to fit into the dress, surprising my parents and grandparents when I showed up dressed in it. However, because I never planned on wearing it, I wore it unwashed with some 30-year old mold!

What did your family/friends have to say about your wedding day?

Glen: Many of our friends and family commented that it was one of the most memorable and classy weddings they’ve attended. They all managed to bask in Jayne’s and my love. There was not a moment that was dull as our videos, march-ins, and food were timely and well-coordinated.

They particularly enjoyed the forest theme décor coupled with the grand and classy ambience of Capella Singapore.

Share with us the most memorable moment of your wedding.

The most memorable moment was during the second march-in where we sang ‘你最珍贵”. Due to technical errors, the music stopped halfway while we were along the aisle, so all our guests started to sing the rest of the song for us in unison. That scene was the most touching as we could really feel everyone being immersed in that moment and singing out in joy.

What is one lesson you’ve learned from your wedding planning that you’d like to share with other couples?

Remember to always settle your vendors, stationery, and prints early so that there are less things to be stressed about on the actual day. You should also make sure that you align your expectations directly with your vendors so that they know exactly what you want, preventing any miscommunication. Lastly, you can only rely on yourself to be resourceful if you want your wedding to fit into your budget. We bought Christmas trees as well as most of the décor like candles at half price, and sold them after the wedding, which helped to cover a huge part of our costs.

Pre-Wedding Shoot

Production: MUSE Media Asia Production
Editor-in-Chief: Elsie Yah
Photography & Videography: Winston Cheung
Creative Direction: Chua Kwee Peng
Fashion Direction: CK
Hair and Makeup: Zoel Tee, using Dior Beauty
Production Support: Dilly Wang
Photography Assistant: Avril Ang
Logistics Assistant: Andre(w) Poon

Wardrobe:

All Jewellery: Lee Hwa Jewellery
Jayne’s white pleated dress: Max Mara Bridal
Jayne’s purple satin slim dress: Max Mara Bridal
Jayne’s black poofy dress with red flowers: Dolce & Gabbana
Jayne’s black sequin short dress: Rebecca Vallance, Net-a-Porter
Jayne’s big purple dress: Nicole Felicia, The Ivory Bridal
Jayne’s unicorn sparkly dress: The Ivory Bridal
Jayne’s black spotted long dress at Geneva old town: Milla, The Ivory Bridal
Jayne’s green dress: Gemy Maalouf
Jayne’s pizza pink blush dress: Milla Nova, Truly Enamoured
Jayne’s feather white mermaid dress: Pronovias
Glen’s blue coat outfit at Gruyeres Castle: Loro Piana
Glen’s purple outfit: Ermenegildo Zegna

Wedding Day:

The Venue: Capella Singapore, the Grand Ballroom
Cost of Wedding: Approx $170,000 (inclusive of pre-wedding shoot, excluding jewellery)
Size of Wedding: 300 guests
The Bride’s Gown: Blessed Brides, GV
The Bride’s Shoes: Christian Louboutin
The Groom’s Suit: Custom made
The Groom’s Shoes: Pedro
The Wedding Bands: Bvlgari, Niessing
The Wedding Photographer: Daniel Sim Photography
The Wedding Videographer: Substance Films
The Hair and Makeup Artist: Zoel
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: The Thread Theory
The Groomsmen’s Suits:Custom made
The Wedding Planner: Jessica from Everitt Weddings
The Wedding Stylist: Med Kärlek Inc.
The Wedding Jewellery: Moltenore, Bvlgari, Lee Hwa Jewellery, Niessing
The Wedding Cake: Capella Singapore
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Papypress
The Wedding Favours: Capella Singapore
The Wedding Resource: SingaporeBrides

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